


Sweet Surrender

by swiftishere



Series: MSA One-Shots [21]
Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Pining Arthur, Pre-Cave Incident, sometimes u just gotta have a good cry about stuff yknow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:39:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27550117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiftishere/pseuds/swiftishere
Summary: Lewis and Vivi are so happy together, especially now that they've started dating, and Arthur is happy for them, ofcoursehe is. But that doesn't make it any easier to watch them, all sappy and full of love for each other, and not feel left out. So he just leaves them alone, when it gets to be too much. What would they want a third wheel around for, anyway?The other two aren't about to let him feel that way for very long. Even if he doesn't openly admit anything, he's never been good at hiding from them.
Relationships: Arthur/Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Series: MSA One-Shots [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1440190
Comments: 12
Kudos: 148





	Sweet Surrender

**Author's Note:**

> there's so much content about arthur quietly pining after the other two and feeling rejected and that's valid and i do enjoy it but sometimes i just want some fluff so. here. here's this

Yesterday was a long day and today was even worse. Literally all Arthur wants to do is go lay down for as long as physically possible. He's just going to duck into the kitchen for a glass of water, and then hopefully, if the universe is feeling at all kind to him, he'll climb into bed and immediately pass out. 

But then Vivi and Lewis come in through the front door, a loud commotion announcing their presence. He stops in the front room to watch them, wait for just a minute on the fleeting hope that they might need him for something. They’re both laughing about something already, chatting to each other with barely a thought to the world outside. As he watches, Vivi leans into Lewis, who puts his arms around her in response, ducking his head slightly to kiss her forehead. She turns to kiss him more fully, and it’s like a knife is being driven through Arthur’s heart. They both look so... happy and content. They fit together perfectly without him. 

Arthur shakes his head abruptly, and does an about-face and heads for his room. It’s not that he doesn’t want to see them, but- he _knows_ how he must look, staring at them like that, and he doesn’t want to ruin their moment by distracting them with his own shitty feelings. So he just retreats to his room and sits down on the bed, grabbing some book he left laying on the desk. The thought of sleep is still tugging at him, but he knows it's not a good idea anymore, not when his head is this full and miserable. 

He can’t even focus on the book to clear it, though. He isn’t even sure what he picked up, still, his eyes slide off the words without processing a single damn thing. His brain keeps dragging him away from the prospect of reading and back to the front room, where Lewis and Vivi are probably still laughing and talking and... 

That spiral is interrupted by the sudden shock of something icy cold being pressed into his neck and shoulders. He yelps and flails for a moment, the book flung off into some corner of his room. And then he recognizes the freezing hands that are very rudely making themselves nice and cozy in his collar. 

“Vivi, what the _hell?_ Don't- don't sneak up on me like th-that!" 

She giggles, not sorry at all. “Shh, space heater, no talking.” Her arms wrap more fully around him, and she buries her nose in the crick of his neck. He’s not ungrateful for the attention, but he also can’t help but shiver. God, why is she always so _cold?_

The weight of a pair of legs appears at his back, the bed sinking a little as she pulls herself up. One hand finds its way to his hair, where she combs through it gently. 

“You looked so sad,” she says, apropos of nothing. It’s soft and quiet, more sincere than he usually hears from her. And then the cheer comes back with, “I just want to- _squeeze all the sad out!”_ And she pulls him even tighter, nearly crushing his shoulders. 

Arthur laughs back, but surprising himself, it turns into a sob after only a few seconds. He just- he hasn’t thought she would even _notice_ , but she _did_ and then she was worried enough to come _find him-_

“Wait- holy shit is it _working_?” Vivi’s face pulls away. “Lewis- hey, Lew, come give me a hand!” she shouts, the sudden volume making Arthur jump, his breath hitching a little. 

Lewis appears at the doorway not long after. “What do you need me- for. Oh.” Arthur sniffs and wipes his eyes, a little embarrassed at how pathetic he must look right now, but he can’t actually get himself to stop crying. 

He must not care, because in another moment a pair of large, warm arms wrap around both him and Vivi, pulling them both close. “Is this what you wanted my help with?” 

“Perfect! Now just squeeze as tight as you can.” 

“But- I don’t want to _hurt_ him-“ 

“Nope, you have to. It’s _very_ important.” 

Lewis laughs, and he _does_ hug him a little tighter. 

Arthur gives in and cuddles deeper into his chest, unable to help the pitiful whimper that escapes him. He’s just- so _tired,_ and this feels _so nice_ , and they _care_ about him and... yeah, okay, maybe he needed the reminder. 

Eventually he’s cried himself out, sobs giving way to shaky breathing and the occasional sniff. A couple more deep breaths before he tries to speak. “I- I’m s-s-sorry-”

But Vivi pokes him in the neck, cutting him off. “No! Shut up, you didn’t do anything.” 

A hand combs through his hair, and he hears Lewis say, “You know you don’t need to apologize to us.” 

His breath hitches again, and for a moment his tongue is tied, struggling to reform what he was trying to say without an apology. “I- uh- th-thanks, you guys.” 

“Of course!” Vivi chirps, going back to hugging him. 

It’s another moment before anyone speaks again. And then Lewis says, “do you... want to talk about what happened?” 

_And ruin all of this and make you both hate me?_ “Uh- I’d- rather not. If th-that’s... okay.” 

“That’s fine!” 

“Yeah, we’re just here if you need us,” Vivi agrees. 

“Can we just... st-stay here for a while?” 

_“Gladly.”_

They settle into a comfortable silence. Arthur snuggled into Lewis’s chest, Vivi curled up against his side, and Lewis’s arms around them both. Eventually, one by one, they all drift off to sleep. 


End file.
